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Migrants

Maryknoll missioners have worked with migrants and people on the move for decades. They have served Burmese refugees in Thailand, Thai workers all over Asia, Burundian and Rwandan refugees in East Africa, and have accompanied Guatemalans, who, after years in Mexico, returned home to start anew in a more peaceful country. Our faith compels us to stand in solidarity with migrants.

Here in the United States, we are profoundly affected by the contribution of migrants in our society, and we have a responsibility to treat them, like all the rest of God’s creation, with dignity and respect.

As the leadership of the Maryknoll Sisters, Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers and the Maryknoll Lay Missioners, we denounce the cruel and immoral “zero-tolerance” immigration policy enacted by the Trump Administration which has resulted in the separation of over 2,300 children from their parents, the criminal prosecution of anyone who crosses the U.S.-Mexico border illegally, and severe restrictions on asylum applications.

On November 20, 14 Catholic organizations, including the Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns, sent a statement to members of Congress regarding the Syrian refugee crisis and the need to welcome Syrian refugees.

The Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns congratulates President Obama for his Nov. 20 announcement to take executive action to provide protection from deportation for possibly five million undocumented persons.

The following statement was approved on September 6, 2006 by Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers General Council, the Maryknoll Sisters of St. Dominic Congregational Leadership Team, and the Maryknoll Lay Missioners Association Leadership Team.

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The following is an excerpt from a letter sent in October to Congressional leaders as they work on the Fiscal Year 2015 State and Foreign Operations bills; it was signed by 52 faith-based, humanitarian, labor, and human rights organizations including the Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns (MOGC).

According to a report crafted by the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA) and the Jesuit Conference of the United States, the recent drop in the number of migrants from Central America trying to enter the U.S. through the southern border can be attributed to the policies being implemented by the Mexican and Central American governments at the behest of, and with funding from, the U.S. government.

Use this link at the Justice for Immigrants' website to send a message to the president and Congress opposing the use of family detention in regards to Central American and Mexican migrants at the U.S. border.

A central cause of the recent dramatic increase in the number of unaccompanied children immigrating into the U.S. through its border with Mexico is the high level of crime and violence in the principal "sending countries" – Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador (collectively referred to as the Northern Triangle) and Mexico.

The following reflection was prepared by Judy Coode in 2014, while working with the Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns. Ms. Coode is the coordinator of the Catholic Nonviolence Initiative, a project of Pax Christi International.